Portable audio players are among the most popular devices for reproducing music. Digital players, CD-MP3 players, in particular, are experiencing significant year-to-year-growth while portable CD players are typically among the highest volume sellers.
CD players are popular as a part of automobile sound systems. Less popular are car CD-MP3 players, possibly because of their relatively high cost. This, however, is likely to change in the future as more titles become available in MP3 format and as MP3 players become less costly. Some portable audio players come with FM transmitter attachments that allow a user listen to the music on the automobile sound system through the FM receiver. Unfortunately, important information provided on the compressed audio rack or playlist track display is not available to the driver. This information may include song titles, artist names, genre and sometimes lyrics, that are often encoded in data tracks. Currently, it is cumbersome and often impossible for the driver to see the LCD screen of the CD-MP3 player because the player may be stowed in a bag or placed loose on the front passenger seat and, thus, not easily viewable by either the driver or the passenger. Also, because the LCD screens of many MP3 players are not back-lit, it is difficult or impossible to read the display in the dark when driving at night.
Lately, digital radio has started to proliferate. In particular satellite based digital broadcasting is gaining momentum. Satellite broadcasting provides many channels of clear, high quality music that may be supplemented by text data. This information is displayed on dedicated radio receivers. In order to use the existing car FM radio systems, however, the satellite broadcasting companies offer “universal” receivers that transmit the audio to the exiting FM receivers in the car on one of the radio FM band channels. In the process, the text information is lost.
It will be beneficial if a method to avoid the loss of the text data is both in CD/MP3 players and universal satellite receivers is devised.